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As Heat Soars, New Yorkers Warned to Stay Out of Rivers

Sun, 2011-07-24 00:34 — Kathy Gilbeaux

msnbc.com - July 22, 2011

A warning by the Hudson River near West 90th Street on Thursday. Millions of gallons of untreated waste spilled into the river - Monika Graff for The New York Times

New Yorkers have been warned to stay out of the Hudson and Harlem Rivers on one of the hottest weekends of the year after millions of gallons of untreated sewage discharged from Manhattan into the waterways because of a four-alarm fire that shut down one of the city’s largest sewage treatment plants.

The city's drinking water has not been impacted, officials said, but people have been cautioned not to swim or kayak on the waterways through at least Monday.

The New York City health department also declared large parts of the East River and the Kill Van Kull unfit for swimming through the weekend.

Local authorities did not expect any beaches in the area to be closed because of the spill.

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Software Uses Twitter To Track Dengue Outbreaks In Brazil

Wed, 2011-07-20 16:15 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Mary Suzanne Kivlighan

Kaiser Family Foundation - July 19, 2011

The New Scientist reports on a software program that is being used "to identify a high correlation between the time and place where people tweet they have dengue and the official statistics for where the disease appears each season."

Researchers at two Brazilian National Institutes of Science and Technology worked together to create the software, which filters tweets containing the word "dengue" and user location details. "Dengue outbreaks occur every year in Brazil, but exactly where varies every season. It can take weeks for medical notifications to be centrally analyzed, creating a headache for health authorities planning where to concentrate resources," the publication notes. Using Twitter could speed up response time, according to Wagner Meira, a computer scientist at the Federal University of Minus Gerais who led the study (Corbyn, 7/18).

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Communicating With the Public During Emergencies: An Update on Federal Alert & Warning Efforts

Mon, 2011-07-18 23:37 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Mike Kraft

                                                

Testimony of Damon Penn, Assistant Administrator, National Continuity Programs, Before the House Committee on Homeland Security, "Communicating With the Public During Emergencies: An Update on Federal Alert & Warning Efforts"

dhs.gov - Release Date: July 8, 2011 - Washington, D.C.

Introduction

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Upper Midwest Braces for Dangerous and Long Heat Wave

Sun, 2011-07-17 23:47 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Reuters - July 15, 2011

(Reuters) - A heat wave hovering in the central and southern states is expanding north to states not accustomed to intense and prolonged heat.

"This is going to be especially bad in the upper Midwest," said Chris Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service.

Temperatures will be in the 90's and possibly hit 100 degrees in some places. When humidity is factored in, the heat index could reach 115 degrees.

These soaring mercury levels are unusual for states like North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, Vaccaro said, which makes this heat wave particularly dangerous in those places. In Minneapolis alone highs could reach 15 degrees above normal.

The heat was apparently to blame for the death of a 72-year-old man in South Memphis, Tennessee.

The man died Wednesday, according to the Shelby County Health Department.

The air conditioning in his home was malfunctioning and blowing hot air. And while a fan was in use, the windows were closed, the agency reported.

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Traces of Radiation Found in 2 Whales Off Japan

Fri, 2011-07-15 16:36 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Luis Kun

by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press - June 15, 2011

In this Monday, June 13, 2011 photo released by Tokyo Electric Power Co., a machine collects radioactive substances in the air for sampling at the Unit 3 of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan. (AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co.) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese whalers caught two animals along the northern coast that had traces of radiation, presumably from leaks at a damaged nuclear power plant, officials said Wednesday.

Two of 17 minke whales caught off the Pacific coast of Hokkaido showed traces of radioactive cesium, both about one-twentieth of the legal limit, fisheries officials said.

They are the first whales thought to have been affected by radiation leaked from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant since it was hit by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

"The levels are far below the limit, and the meat from the catch is safe for consumption," Fisheries Agency official Kosei Takekoshi said.

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Chicago Announces $40 Million Building Retrofit Program

Thu, 2011-07-14 11:22 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Green Roof on Chicago's City Hall

energyboom.com - July 13, 2011

After the monthly board meeting of the Public Buildings Commission of Chicago, the city's mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the launch of the Guaranteed Energy Performance Contracting program, a new energy efficiency initiative.

The program plans to retrofit as many as 100 of the city's public buildings through upgrades in lighting, mechanical retrofits, and inserting better water conservation technology. 

Cumulatively, the initiative will retrofit 6.5 million square feet of office space; as a result, the program is expected to create almost 375 direct jobs and 1,100 manufacturing and related jobs.  Once complete, the energy retrofits will save tax payers an estimated $4 million to $5.7 million annually.

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Resilience Under Energy Price Spike During Economic Downturn Simulation

Thu, 2011-07-14 10:44 — Kathy Gilbeaux
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David Alberts on the Agility Imperative

Wed, 2011-07-13 19:31 — mdmcdonald

Agility and the Collective

21st Century Imperatives

Dr. David S. Alberts

June 2011

 

 

 

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Preparatory Meeting at 4 PM Today (7/12) for the "Social Media and Governance in Times of Transition Symposium

Tue, 2011-07-12 15:51 — mdmcdonald

At 4 PM today, there will be a preparatory meeting for "Social Media and Governance in Times of Transition" Symposium today.  The meeting will be held at the Capital Yacht Club in Washington, D.C.  Those interested in tracking the Social Media and Governance Symposium development along with the U.S. Resilience Summit, and the associated collaboratories in the U.S. Resilience Summit are welcome to join us via conference call at:

Conference Dial-in Number: (712) 432-0180 Participant Access Code: 205372#

 

Mike

Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H. 

University of Maryland, School of Public Health

 

President

Global Health Initiatives, Inc.

 

Coordinator

U.S. Resilience System

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Switching The Energy Economy Of San Antonio

Mon, 2011-07-11 15:47 — Kathy Gilbeaux

NPR - July 8, 2011

San Antonio's mayor says he wants to make the city a hub for alternative and renewable energy businesses. Ira Flatow and guests discuss how a city can change its energy habits. Plus, smart meters let utilities know how much energy a house is using minute by minute. Who should own the data? Can consumers use the info to save money?

IRA FLATOW, host: This is SCIENCE FRIDAY, I'm Ira Flatow. We're in San Antonio this week, broadcasting live from the Witte Museum here, and one thought keeps popping into my mind: I hope the air conditioning keeps working.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

FLATOW: Because here in Texas, it's July, and it's really hot outside. The mercury is hovering around 100, as it does almost every day in the summer. A blackout like the one we had in the Northeast a few years ago or the one they had in Texas earlier this year could really be deadly this time of the year.

Managing the electricity grid and keeping those air conditioners humming can be a challenge for electricity providers, and are sure to get even more complicated when renewable energy is added to the mix, something San Antonio is planning to do.

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